Theoretical aspects of iceload measurements on fixed rods and overhead line conductors: A transfer function for dry rime-ice accretion

Abstract

This paper is concerned with theoretical aspects of the methodology of iceload measurements on an overhead line conductor (OHLC) of finite span and finite torsional stiffness. The purpose is to establish the relationships between the iceload on a fixed rod or sampler and the spatial average iceload on an OHLC. A theoretical database, generated using dynamical models for rime-ice accretion on conductors, is carefully analysed to express iceload data as a function of meteorological conditions and the mechanical properties of the OHLC. These results provide the required ratios of the iceload on a sampler to that on OHLCs as a function of time during an icing incident. A transfer function, relating theoretically predicted iceloads on an OHLC to that for a sampler, is then constructed and should prove useful in the development of the corresponding methodology for relating sets of field measurements in this way. For design purposes progress in the latter is desirable.